Father's Day is almost here and I thought it'd be fun to feature my dad, of course! If you know him, you respect him, admire him and love him. Fun fact: he wears black every day. It's rare he's not wearing black! That combined with his signature white hair...quite a sharp look if I do say so myself. I wore black in this post to honor the man himself! :)
He's sharing about his all time favorite men's colognes below, so keep scrolling for more!
☆ SHOP JESSICA'S LOOK ☆
Jessica and I have a lot in common, including our love for dreaming about the future, creativity, worship, adventure, hitting golf balls at the driving range, baseball games and finding new fragrances. And speaking of fragrances, I’m excited Jess asked me to share about my favorite colognes for Father’s Day! I think it’s a great idea for a blog post and I hope it’s helpful whether you’re shopping for your dad, your significant other, or you’re a guy like me just interested in some new options.
Though I had a couple of cheap bottles of cologne when I was a teenager, I really haven’t enjoyed wearing cologne all that much until the last few years. I like to make careful choices and keep my collection small. My priorities when shopping—affordability, uniqueness and longevity. I tend to like fresh, citrus and woodsy fragrances, but nothing too spicy or heavy. To me, these are all-occasion fragrances. Appropriate for work/daytime, but also dinner and date nights. So here we go!
1. John Varvatos Artisan. Described as a refreshing citrus explosion that develops into a spicy and floral blend followed by a masculine woody impression.
My absolute all-time favorite cologne is Artisan. This just feels really fresh to me. I haven’t smelled anything like it! It’s a very light fragrance so you can spray it on pretty heavily. If you’ve ever been to Walt Disney World, you’ve noticed that they try to capture all of your senses (including smell) when you walk into their nicer resort hotels. Disney’s Contemporary Resort is a great example! It has its own unique smell that you subconsciously associate with the resort, the feeling, the memories. There’s something about John Varvatos Artisan that reminds me of that smell. It’s not identical, but it’s in that family. So, every time I wear Artisan, I think about our amazing family times at WDW. The only complaint I have is that it just doesn’t last long enough, which is a common concern expressed about this particular cologne. But to me, it’s still worth the few hours it lasts.
Notes of sicilian clementine, tangelo, mandarin, thyme, marjoram, lavadin, North African orange tree blossom, Indian murraya, orange jasmine tree, ginger extracts, kephalis, georgywood, belambre, serenolide.
2. John Varvatos Artisan Pure. Described as crisp and woody citrus. This might actually be my new favorite! Jessica gave me a sample and I’m sold. It’s in the Artisan family, but it’s noticeably different…and I think it’s amazing. Since I just ran out of Artisan, my perfect world—if I had unlimited resources—would be to have both Artisan and Artisan Pure in my arsenal…but if I had to choose one over the other, I might choose Artisan Pure just for a change! I’ve found that Artisan Pure initially has a stronger concentration of fragrance than Artisan and it lasts longer. Maybe use a lighter spray to start with because of that. I haven’t found anything as unique as Artisan and Artisan Pure!
Notes of citrus groves, coffee tree flower, sun-warmed woods.
3. Mark Birley for Men. Described as a warm woody blend. This is a huge favorite of mine and it looks like it’s currently unavailable! Once again, I discovered it because Jessica gave me a sample. We’ve found it at one online store (here) but have never shopped there before. I’m including it in the list just in case you come across it somewhere and you’re interested. Jessica found this on sale for me a while back at Barneys New York online, so I grabbed it up! I use it sparingly because it’s more expensive. And I think you can easily put too much of it on because it’s a stronger concentrated fragrance. People might smell you coming! :) A light spray is all you need. I wore it yesterday and I really enjoy the smell.
Notes of sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, musk, vetiver, carrot seeds, leather, lemon, bergamot, mandarin, violet and incense.
4. Insurrection II. Described as fruity, sweet, fresh, tropical, woody. There’s a well-known men’s cologne called Creed’s Aventus. I’ve never even gotten a test sample…there’s no point for me since it’s $300+ for just a 1.7 ounce bottle! It’s super expensive, but anything you read about Creed Aventus online says it’s awesome. But there’s a knockoff cologne of Aventus called Insurrection II. It’s roughly $20! A friend of mine who’s really into men’s colognes—he probably has dozens of fragrances—told me about Insurrection II. I really like it! Everyone says it’s very similar, but I can’t say how much it resembles Aventus. I’d say Insurrection II is probably more of a dinner/date night fragrance, but I wear it anytime.
Notes of cassis, bergamot, apple, pineapple, birch, jasmine, patchouli, oakmoss, musk, amber and vanilla.
A few other options Jess wants to mention are Prada Luna Rossa, Le Labo Santal 33, YSL Y and YSL L’Homme. Her advice has always worked great for me…just sayin’!
☆ SHOP COLOGNES MENTIONED IN POST ☆
Happy Father's Day and happy shopping!
All the best,
Tim and Jessica
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